


Trains

by Bishie Huntress (Artemystic)



Series: 2015 NaNo Prompts [3]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Al-centric, Gen, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-13 00:05:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5686828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artemystic/pseuds/Bishie%20Huntress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Al watches Ed sleep on the train.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trains

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry, no Roy/Ed in this one for you hopefuls. Although I hope you still enjoy reading this. =)

### Trains

Al watched Ed sleep as the train rattled its way back to Eastern Command after another fruitless mission. He kind of wanted to bang his helmet against the window in frustration, but he got enough weird looks as it was. Better to stop while he was ahead.

Al liked watching Ed while he slept. When he was awake, he always looked so tense and stern, trying to shoulder all the weight of their sin alone. Al didn’t know how to get it through his brother’s thick skull that he was just as much to blame.

But when Ed slept, it was almost like he was a completely different person. At the moment, his elbow was propped on the bench’s armrest, head leaning against his gloved automail hand and the window. Late afternoon sun shone through the window, lighting up his golden hair. The fingers of his hand were curled into a loose fist against his cheek, and Al knew that when he woke, he’d have funny prints there and a red spot from the window on his forehead. He’d learned not to mention the marks because all it did was give his brother an excuse to delay his reports to Colonel Mustang. The unholy glee hiding behind the smirk on the colonel’s face every time amused him, too.

Ed was drooling just a little on his glove. That was kind of gross and kind of endearing, which made Al feel for a moment as if he was Ed’s parent instead of his younger brother. Weird.

But the best part of watching Ed sleep was how relaxed he became. His face eased out of its constant frown—Al always teased him about wrinkles—and his shoulders lost the tension that threatened to make his back a mess of knots. When he was on a bed, Ed sprawled out, covering the whole thing as if trying to make himself bigger. His arms and legs hung off the edges, and his shirt _always_ rode up. He looked young again, innocent, and Al often wished they could go back to a time when they were still innocent, before all this, even though he knew wishing was useless.

Al watched him for another long moment before looking out the window. The scenery was starting to look familiar, and the houses were closer together. They were nearly to their stop. He should probably wake Ed so he could scribble out some kind of report for the colonel.

He looked over at Ed again. Maybe, just this once, he’d let him sleep until the train reached the station. This last mission had really taken a toll on Ed, and besides, it’d make him happy to have an excuse to put off his meeting with the colonel. It was pretty late in the day, anyway.

 


End file.
